Iâ€™m still in discussions with my better half about taking the Jeep instead of bumming a ride. It gives me a little more independence and I would not have to rely on others to haul my stuff, especially since I'll have my brother-in-law from the Netherlands with me. As far as I know he has never camped in his life.

I have no concern about playa dust in the vehicle. May be a pain in the ass to clean out but I could take off the hard top, open the floor drains and hose everything out. It's a 2007 but still has the basics like floor drains. My wifeâ€™s concern is that we use the Jeep as our main vehicle and she doesnâ€™t want to deal with the dust. It is the dust that keeps her from attending Burning Man.

My main concern is what about the exterior paint. Will the playa dust make "permanent" damage to the paint? I plan to give it a heavy wax job to provide some protection. I also plan to cover it with a large tarp although I'm somewhat worried about that because of friction rubbing from the wind.

You know it's going to be a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.

Don't put a tarp or cover on it! You are correct, that will do more harm than good because of the wind. The kind of fine scratches that are possible from parking on the playa are easily buffed out, it won't really hurt your paint.
What it WILL hurt is anything that can corrode. That's the issue with playa dust.
You'll want to pressure wash the bejeezus out of the whole Jeep, underneath and all when you get back, and maybe even douse it in WD40. I've rusted the bottoms and engine compartments of several trucks going to Burning Man.

If you want to shield it, I think your best bet it to bring one of the 10x20 Costco carports to park it in, but you must tie the hell out of it so it doesn't crash up against your Jeep. A pretty good way to do that is to tie it to the Jeep in all directions from the inside. And I mean really tie it like you were expecting a hurricane.

GreyCoyote: "At this rate it wont be long before he is Admiral Fukkit."Delle: Singularly we may be dysfunctional misfits, but together we're magic.

"I also plan to cover it with a large tarp although I'm somewhat worried about that because of friction rubbing from the wind."

Yes, ironically this is more likely to cause damage than just leaving it out. Only reason to cover with a tarp is if you have food inside or are sleeping in it or something, in which case, don't.

The blowing dust doesn't tend to have a lot of "weight" to it - unless you're exposed to open playa - so it's unlikely to scratch paint by itself. Tying tarps or tents or shade structures to the vehicle might cause some friction damage.

Then again, it's always possible a blowing tent or shade structure will be picked up by the wind and slam into your car all by itself. "Surprise!" is the new "Sorry!".

Another thing to worry about is dust in the ventilation system. It will get in there, and then when you turn on the AC you get a dust bath. Best way to prevent this is to turn off the ventilation when you get on the playa, then put a blanket over the vents on the hood while you're there.

i brought my fairly new lexus out there and it was fine i waxed it before bringing it and after i gave it a good wash and interior detail it took me a while but i got most of the dust cleaned out and didn't really have a problem with the vents being full of dust as it has a cabin air filter that caught all the dust. Although the engine bay is still fairly dusty and I'm not really sure how to clean that all out. The only thing that messed up my paint was driving it from dallas to BRC and back... rocks and shit from other cars/trucks chipped the front paint here and there but that's to be expected. I don't really care that much cuz I will keep it for another 200k miles people told me i shouldn't bring a nice car out there but it's the only vehicle I got and I too didn't like the idea of relying on others for a ride

sambojones wrote:i brought my fairly new lexus out there and it was fine i waxed it before bringing it and after i gave it a good wash and interior detail it took me a while but i got most of the dust cleaned out and didn't really have a problem with the vents being full of dust as it has a cabin air filter that caught all the dust. Although the engine bay is still fairly dusty and I'm not really sure how to clean that all out. The only thing that messed up my paint was driving it from dallas to BRC and back... rocks and shit from other cars/trucks chipped the front paint here and there but that's to be expected. I don't really care that much cuz I will keep it for another 200k miles people told me i shouldn't bring a nice car out there but it's the only vehicle I got and I too didn't like the idea of relying on others for a ride

I took the Vette my 1st year and it survived but I had a constant reminder of my shenanigans every time I turned the AC on for the next 6 months

I haven't taken my car to Burning Man, but I've had out on the playa at Rendezvous. A couple of high speed runs across from our camp to Frog Pond and it was covered. I get little weepers of playa dust, still, when I wash it. Driving it may get dust in more places, but I'm not sure...

Not me - my wife. I've owned many Jeeps including a Willys. The Willys was modified to run a 289 Ford, 5:38 gearing, the whole works. I was the president of a 4WD club at the time I built up that Jeep.

A little history on the current Jeepâ€¦

My last Jeep was a 1997 four banger with no air. Didn't bother me at all but my wife hated it if we went out in the desert and ate the dust. She asked if I could put air in it to pressurize the cabin. I told her no. She suggested that I get a new Jeep. I knew what she meant but took her literally and ordered a new Jeep from the factory. It was a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with all the bells and whistles. It has since then become our main vehicle.

Since it is our main vehicle I try to keep the ventilation as dust free as possible. Nevada pin stripping comes along with taking it off road but my wife hates dust blowing in her face when the fan is turned on. That is her big concern about me taking it to Burningman this year. Iâ€™m hoping to minimize the dust by using recirculation while on the Playa. I also plan to cover the vent intake next to the windshield. After Burningman I plan to remove the top and let the fan run full force for a while hoping to clear out most of the dust.

The dust is such a concern with her that she is willing for me to rent an SUV to take to Burningman. I told her that for the cost of the rental and cleaning afterwards that I could get one hell of a detailing plus have money left over. Iâ€™m still working on the situation. Wish me luck.

You've heard of stubborn Dutchmen? My wife was born in Amsterdam!

You know it's going to be a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.

Another thing to worry about is dust in the ventilation system. It will get in there, and then when you turn on the AC you get a dust bath. Best way to prevent this is to turn off the ventilation when you get on the playa, then put a blanket over the vents on the hood while you're there.

I took a Honda Civic to the burn two years in a row and did not experience the dust issues in the A/C... I spent and average of 8 days on the Playa and did not use my vehicle at all when I was there. I started to use the A/C while in lineup on the way home and never noticed any "poof" of dust during the 2700KM trip home. Not saying I didn't have any dust in my vehicle, cause I still do...

I wonder, is it the direction I parked?? amount of dust (07 & 08)?? Did I have some fancy filter in my A/C intake? Any thoughts??